


Do You Feel Me Now

by seraphina_snape



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 09:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7308778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphina_snape/pseuds/seraphina_snape
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ransom and March break up but Holster doesn't hear about it until weeks later at a kegster where March tells him they broke up because they were both interested in other people. Holster confronts Ransom about it and things turn out a lot happier than they both imagine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do You Feel Me Now

**Author's Note:**

> I saw [this post](http://legozimbits.tumblr.com/post/146479863299/okay-but-where-is-my-holsom-fic-where-during-a) earlier today and just had to write something because Ransom! Holster! Ransom & Holster! ♥
> 
> (Title because I might have been listening to Britney's _Toxic_ on repeat while writing this.)

"Wait, what?"

Holster blinks, wishing for the first time in his life during a kegster that the music wasn't quite so loud.

March shoots an annoyed look at the overly large speakers they set up in the corners and grabs his wrist. She tows him through the living room to the back door, brushing past a couple that's already getting to the naked stage of making out to get outside and down the steps into the small but blessedly empty backyard. The music is still loud enough that Holster can feel the thrumming of the bass in his chest, but it's enough to have a conversation. 

March drops his wrist and leans back against the lonely birch tree in their backyard. "I said Justin and I broke up."

Holster look down at his beer and then slowly sets it down on the grass. Maybe he needs to stop drinking if he's hallucinating shit already. 

"Okay. That sounded like you said you and Ransom broke up. Which can't be true because you've been doing this relationship thing for months now and it's been going great. Right? Hasn't it been going great? That's what Ransom always said. I'd ask him, _hey, how's it going with March?_ And he'd say _great, man, she's amazing_."

March lets out a deep breath. "Yeah, well, he's pretty amazing, too. But it just wasn't working, so we decided to call it quits."

"Did he _do_ something? Did _you_ do something? I mean, _what happened_?" Holster winces. He's Ransom's best bro, true, but that doesn't mean he can just demand to know the particulars of his and March's relationship. Especially if they just broke up. Especially since he wants-- yup, not drunk enough to go there. "Sorry, it's none of my business, really. I just... maybe coming to one of our kegsters when you just broke up wasn't the best idea." His mind is already inside, thinking about Ransom and how he might need an extra drink tonight, or a shoulder to cry on.

March frowns at him. "Adam, we broke up six weeks ago."

Holster thinks _I need to sit down_ and suddenly finds himself with his ass on the cold ground. "Great," he grumbles. "I'mma get grass stains on these pants."

"Are you okay?"

Holster nods. "I'm--"

Angry because he's hearing this from March. Angry because his best friend broke up with his 'perfect' girlfriend after what, seven months?, and _never said a word_. Worried because his best friend went through a major breakup and he _didn't even notice_. Angry again because as awesome as March is he literally just got used to having to share Ransom with March and now it looks like he'll have to get used to a whole new person coming between them. Kind of ashamed because he should be thinking about Rans right now, not himself.

"-- a horrible friend," he finishes. He leans back on his hands and bumps into his previously abandoned beer can. He grabs it and gulps the rest down in one go, dropping the can back to the ground. "I didn't even notice. You guys broke up and instead of being there for him, I probably made everything worse for him. I'm a shitty best friend."

March sits down next to him, facing him, and pats his leg. "You're a great friend, Adam. You never once made me feel like I was 'just the girlfriend'. You included me in whatever you guys were up to if I showed up and as far as I can tell you never got mad at Justin if he spent time with me instead of you. So don't beat yourself up about it, okay?"

It's good to hear, Holster can admit that much. But the fact that he didn't notice Ransom and March weren't dating anymore still rankles. He knows for a fact that Ransom and March went to a movie just the week before - some weird biopic you couldn't pay Holster to watch, but that's just one more thing that makes Ransom and March such a perfect couple. 

Holster isn't proud of it, but for the first few weeks of their relationship he waited for them to break up. Every time Ransom came back from a date, he expected to hear something along the lines of _March is great but I think it's time to move on_. All of Ransom's relationships follow that pattern. He meets someone. She's awesome. And then a few weeks down the line the novelty wears off and Ransom starts looking for someone new. It had taken a lot of adjustment on Holster's part when he realized March might just be The One. The one who stuck it out. The one who moved in with Ransom after graduation. The one he would eventually marry, maybe have a few kids with. The one Holster would have to get along with for the rest of his life if he wanted to stay in Ransom's life. So that's what he'd done. He'd taken a step back, locked his own feelings up in a box and tried to make a place for March. 

"He still talks about you a lot, you know. Maybe he's in denial. Maybe he didn't tell me because he doesn't want to make it real."

March smiles. It's a sad little half-smile that Holster can't really place. 

"Trust me, he knows we broke up. He's not in denial about that." The sad half-smile slowly changes into a more genuine smile. "Anyway, we've agreed to be friends. We still meet up to study and do things together, but we're not a couple anymore." She tilts her head, a considering look on her face. "I think maybe you didn't notice we broke up because Justin and I didn't really have one of those breakups where the world just stops for a few days. We just looked at each other one day and he blurted out _oh my god, I'm so sorry, but I think I'm in love with someone else_. And... well, there's this guy I was interested in for pretty much all my freshman year and he's been abroad for a semester but he's back now and--well." She shrugs. "We just sort of mutually agreed we were good together but that we wouldn't find true happiness with each other. So we split up and decided to give the people we were really interested in a chance."

It takes a moment to process all of this in his slightly buzzed state, but the words _I think I'm in love with someone else_ and _what the actual fuck_ are making the rounds in his head.

"Um. Congratulations on the breakup? I guess."

March laughs. "Thanks. Jeff and I are going for coffee tomorrow."

"But... Ransom isn't dating anyone. Anyone new. I don't think. I mean, I didn't realize you two had broken up, or that he is apparently interested in someone else, so maybe I'm just stupidly dense about Ransom's love life these days, but if you two broke up to date other people, then maybe he's not doing so great after all. Since he's not, you know, dating anyone new." Holster's eyes widened. "Oh god, what if he told her and she shut him down? What if his little heart is breaking in two _right now_? I should go and find him."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you'd know if Justin confessed his love to, uh, anyone," March mutters, shaking her head a little as Holster scrambles to his feet. He's already halfway to the back door when he turns back to March. 

"You're okay though, right? If I leave you alone after you just told me your breakup story? Do I need to call someone?"

March pushes her hair out of her face and grins at him. "I'm good. Go find Ransom."

Holster nods and turns around, reaching the back door with three long strides. He disappears inside, leaving March alone in the backyard. 

She sighs.

"Good luck, Adam. You're gonna need it if he still hasn't told you."

#

Holster wakes up the next morning and groans. He's not even that hung-over, but his mouth still tastes like dead rat.

Somehow he'd made it up to the attic and into the top bunk. Ransom had somehow disappeared during the time Holster and March had spent outside, and after a solid hour of asking around, Holster had finally found out from Bitty that he'd mumbled something about March and left the Haus. Knowing what he did, Holster had been pretty sure Ransom hadn't gone to March, but after another hour of walking around campus he'd given up and gone back to the Haus. He'd slept in Ransom's bunk because he didn't want to miss him coming home - apparently in vain since he can hear the second song from Ransom's Post Kegster Clean-Up Playlist playing downstairs. 

Holster catches his foot on the ladder and nearly brains himself on the bed frame, but finally makes it down in one piece. Turns out there was a reason why Ransom always slept in his bed when he absolutely shitfaced. 

He stops in the bathroom to piss and brush his teeth, hips swaying to _Another One Bites The Dust_.

Ransom is in the living room scrubbing at a tub juice stain on the coffee table. From the lack of randos asleep on the floor and/or furniture, Holster assumes he slept through the air horn wake-up call that's traditional at the Haus after a kegster. He grabs the roll of large trash bags balanced on the back of the green couch and rips one off. 

Ransom is close enough that he hears it over the sound of Queen blasting from the speakers in the corner. He looks up and meets Holster's eyes for a split second before he turns back to the stain, scrubbing vigorously. 

"Okay," Holster mutters. "If that's how this is going to go."

He walks over and turns the music down until it's no longer echoing through the entire Haus. Through the open doorway he can see Bitty in the kitchen, earphones in and bent over a pie crust. He grins a little because pie after a kegster is the best thing.

"So," he says, starting to dump empty cups in the trash bag. "I talked to March last night."

"Uh." 

Holster doesn't turn around. He doesn't need to see Ransom's slightly guilty, slightly pleading expression right now. 

"She told me that you guys broke up because you wanted to date other people." Holster pauses a moment and turns around to look for the bucket. It gives him a chance to glance at Ransom who is still staring down at the stain but has stopped scrubbing. 

Holster straightens up and grabs all the half-full cups, dumping the remaining booze into the bucket before throwing the cups into the trash bag. 

"Holtzy--"

"She also mentioned that it was like six weeks ago."

Holster finishes with the bookshelf and starts collecting cups from the floor and window ledges. In the background, the playlist switches to _Taking Care Of Business_.

"I thought that was pretty interesting because this whole time I thought you two were still dating. I mean, didn't you go on a date last Thursday?" Holster shrugs, almost sure he can feel Ransom's eyes on his back. "Imagine my surprise when I told March you two could have the attic yesterday and she said _why? Justin and I broke up_."

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't want to talk about it."

Holster drops the trash bag and turns around, crossing his arms. "Not to invalidate your feelings about this breakup, mutual or not, but I'm feeling pretty damn hurt you didn't even tell me for six weeks. I wouldn't even know if I hadn't seen March yesterday! I've been accidentally lying to people for weeks. That girl at the Theta Kappa Nu party last weekend was totally into you and I told her you had a girlfriend. How can I be your wingman if I don't even know you need one?"

"I don't." Ransom straightens up from his crouch by the coffee table and takes off the rubber gloves. " I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I don't need you to be my wingman, okay? I wasn't interested in that girl anyway." 

"Oh, right." Holster swallows against the bitterness in his throat. "You and March broke up because you're interested in someone else. So, who is it?" 

Ransom shakes his head. "It's not like that, okay? I can't..."

"Right," Holster says, "of course. You didn't even tell me about the breakup, so why would you tell me about this new person. I get it. Why bother, right?" 

Ransom's brow furrows and he looks sad and angry at the same time, but Holster can't stop himself. He knows he's being an asshole. This isn't even about him. Ransom's his best friend, but that doesn't mean he owes it to Holster to tell him every little secret, every aspect of his life. It's not like he's falling all over himself to tell Ransom why the prospect of a new love interest in Ransom's life upsets him so much. 

"Whatever, it's fine. Just give me a heads-up when you bring this girl up to the attic or, like, put a sock on the doorknob. It's not like it's any of my business anyway. You can just--"

Ransom's wet rag hits him in the face. 

"IT'S YOU, ALL RIGHT?!" Ransom yells, loud and angry. "I broke up with March because she was amazing and perfect but _STILL NOT YOU_ , okay?" Then his eyes widen and he takes a step back, his expression a mix of panic and resignation. 

Holster feels a bit like someone pulled a rug out from under him. He uncrosses his arms and then doesn't know what to do with his hands. _IT'S YOU_ echoes in his head, and his heart skips a beat because it's him. Ransom and March broke up because March was more in to this Jeff dude and _Ransom was more into Holster_. "I--I don't--what?"

"I get it, okay?" Ransom says, hands shaking. "I get it. You're my best friend, you're not gay, you're not--"

"You're right," Holster interrupts him, hoping Ransom will listen long enough that he doesn't go into coral reef mode right and curl up right here on the kind of gross living room floor. "I'm not gay. But, _bro_ \- did you forget the time in freshman year when I showed up at your dorm at like three a.m. in nothing but a sweatshirt tied around my waist? Because Alex woke up, freaked out about who he hooked up with and kicked me out?"

"But." 

Ransom stares at him, so distracted that his hands stop shaking. Holster can practically see his brain working and he smiles when it finally seems to click for Ransom.

"But Alex was that soccer chick."

"Soccer _dude_ , bro. I'm bisexual. I don't hook up with guys as often as I do with girls, but it happens." He shrugs. "I just have high standards."

Ransom grins. "Yeah, I know how picky you are."

Holster snorts. "Apparently not, or you would have noticed a trend."

Ransom raises an eyebrow.

Holster holds up one finger. "Alex. A little shorter than me but definitely built. Short hair, brown eyes, brown skin, an ass to die for and cheekbones to match." He adds a second finger. "Jamal, that exchange student from England who trained with the rugby team sometimes. Also a little shorter than me, with amazing cheekbones, a lovely ass and warm brown eyes. And then there was Noah, and Solo and Charlie - who was kind of a freak - and they all kind of look like--" 

"Wait! Solo? Isn't that one of the lax bros?"

"Uh."

"Dude. The _lax bros_?"

Holster shrugs. "Okay, so maybe I took _fuck the lax bros_ a little too seriously, but I was a young and impressionable sophomore."

Ransom groans. "Oh my god, never tell any of the others, especially not Whiskey. Bitty told me he's been sniffing around the lax frat - no way that will end well."

Silence descends and suddenly it's awkward again. Holster doesn't know how to bring the conversation back to the part where Ransom broke up with March for him, especially since he didn't even get so far as to say _me too, bro_.

"Okay, so," Ransom says after a moment. "You've got a type. Just let me know when and I'll be your wingman. I'll tell every guy how amazing you are."

And suddenly it's easy because no way is he going to let Ransom pretend that love confession, shouted and angry as it was, didn't happen. Besides, now he can chirp his way through telling Ransom he loves him back. 

"Wow. You know, I felt really bad about not realizing you and March broke up, but suddenly I don't feel so bad. You're at least as unobservant and I am, and I'm practically spelling it out here. _You're_ my type, Rans. Every guy I've been with since I met you I picked _because of you_."

"Oh. Oh." Slowly, a smile starts to spread over Ransom's face. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't _you_?"

"I thought you were straight, bro."

Holster gives him a look. "And so did I, man. You dated March for like seven months."

"And then I broke up with her because of you."

Holster grins before he can stop himself, and then he realizes he doesn't _have_ to stop himself. He can be glad Ransom and March aren't dating. He can be _fucking ecstatic_ that Ransom loves him more. 

And that's when it really sinks in. 

Ransom broke up with March because of Holster. Ransom loves him. Ransom is in love with him. 

"Bro, why the hell are you not kissing me right now? Come here!"

Ransom lets out a happy laugh and practically jumps into Holster's arms.

#

They end up making out on the green couch until Bitty wanders in from the kitchen, earphones still in place, and nearly drops his freshly made blueberry pie. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it! ♥
> 
> PS: [Here is a link where you can reblog the original post with my story attached](http://legozimbits.tumblr.com/post/146503517799/seraphina-snape-legozimbits-okay-but-where), in case you want to spread the love. *g*


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